Airway management in the medical field may be accomplised by a process known as intubation. The intubation process refers to the passage of a tube through the nose or mouth into the trachea for maintenance of the tracheal airway during anesthesia, for relief of an imperilled airway from any cause or for artificial respiration. Situations requiring intubation arise in the operating room, the emergency room, on the hospital floor or even in the field with emergency paramedical personnel.
Anatomical variations in a patient's upper airway make some intubation procedures more difficult than others. These difficult intubations are exascerbated by the supine position of the patient during the procedure. For example, a short-necked, emphysematous patient supine on a flat surface will offer an acute orotracheal angle making intubation difficult. In some cases, such difficulties are assessed in advance and estimations of optimal head and neck support are made. However, medical personnel frequently make such assessments during laryngoscopy, which is an inspection of the larynx by means of a laryngoscope. In these situations, a failed first attempt at intubation usually results in a scramble for extra pillows to alter position of the patient's head. During this potentially life threatening time, the patient may not be breathing on his own and is unventilated.